Shebarim was a place near Ai where the Israelites fled after being defeated due to Achan's sin (Josh. 7:5).
Also known as stone quarries
Shebarim is mentioned briefly in the account of Israel's defeat at Ai (Josh. 7:5). After the conquest of Jericho, the Israelites attacked the city of Ai but were defeated because of Achan's sin of taking devoted things from Jericho. As a result, the men of Ai struck down about thirty-six Israelites and pursued them from the city gate as far as Shebarim.
The exact location of Shebarim is unknown, but it was likely a place near Ai where the terrain allowed the defenders to overtake the fleeing Israelites. The name "Shebarim" means "the breaks" or "the quarries," possibly indicating a rocky or broken landscape that made escape difficult.
The mention of Shebarim in this narrative highlights the consequences of disobedience and sin within the Israelite camp. Achan's violation of God's command led to defeat and humiliation at the hands of a smaller enemy force. The pursuit of the Israelites to Shebarim underscores the extent of their defeat and the vulnerability caused by their failure to uphold God's standards of holiness.
Approximate location: 31.917, 35.261 · view on a map · on the Bible atlas
Breaks; ruins, a place near Ai (Josh. 7:5; R.V. marg., “the quarries”).
(the breaches), a place named in (Joshua 7:5) only, as one of the points in the flight from Ai.
SHEB'ARIM (ruins), a place near Ai to which the Israelites were pursued. Josh 7:5. The term may mean "precipices," or possibly "fissures," but the location is unknown.
SHEB'ARIM (ruins), a place near Ai to which the Israelites were pursued. Josh 7:5. The term may mean "precipices," or possibly "fissures," but the location is unknown.
Easton (1897), Smith (1863), Hitchcock (1869), Hastings (1898) and Schaff are in the public domain. Parsed text: neuu-org/bible-dictionary-dataset (CC BY 4.0). Headwords and whitespace normalised for this site.
1 verse in 1 book · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H7671
And the men of Ai struck down about thirty-six of them, chasing them from the gate as far as the quarries and striking them down on the slopes. So the hearts of the people melted and became like water.
Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.